Brushes



March 5, 1963 J. F. H. wRiGHT 3,079,628

BRUSHES Filed June 23, 1958 by@ MME/5,5

Etafses Eatent @ffice 3,@7L628 Patented Mar. 5, i953 T. "f i i.; rn. een f 3,079,628 BRUSHES John F. H. Wright, 11 Tour-ello Ave., Hawthorn East, Victoria, Austraiia Filed June 23, 1958. Ser. No. 743,827 3 Claims. (Cl. 15--567) This invention relates to paint brushes and the like.

Paint brushes of the normal type are not entirely satisfactory in that the bristles have to be thoroughly cleaned after use when the brush is to be put away for any considerable time and this cleaning is not easy to carry out satisfactorily and requires the use of a solvent which adds to the cost. Another disadvantage is that the bristles tend to become permanently deformed from their original shape so that after the brush has been used for some time it is frequently diicult to obtain sharp edges on the painted area.

It is accordingly the main object of this invention to provide a brush of the type referred to with which the operation of cleaning is facilitated and if desired may be eliminated, and wherein the paint spreading characteristics of an ordinary high quality bristle brush are closely simulated.

A further object is to provide a brush of the type referred to which is less likely than a bristle brush to be damaged in normal use in such a way that a sharp edge on the painted area cannot be readily obtained therewith. According to a feature of this invention there isv provided a paint brush or the like having a brush head made from porous synthetic plastic material or the like, the head being provided with a stiifener or stiffener blade which is adapted to reduce the distortion of the head during normal use of the brush. Preferably the brush head is formed from a piece of polyurethane plastic foam and the stiiener comprises a liexible sheet or strip of nylon which is iitted into a recess in the plastic material. By a suitable choice of the dimensions of the stiening strip in relation to the brush head it is possible to closely simulate the stiffness of a conventional bristle brush. The brush head may be permanently attached to the handle of the brush, but will normally be detachable therefrom.

If desired, interchangeable head and stiifener elements could be provided in different sizes for fitting to a handle or other permanent part of the brush. In this W-ay brushes of different sizes may be provided Without completely duplicating the unit.

To facilitate the further and more detailed description of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of brush in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation of the brush shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is va part-sectional plan view of a further type of brush according to the invention wherein the liquid absorbent head has been removed,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional elevation showing the construction of another type of brush.

Referring rstly to the brush illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, the head 1Q is formed from one or more pieces of foamed polyurethane plastic material. The head is rectangular in shape and is of hollow form. One convenient method of forming the head is to fold a strip of the plastic material upon itself and then secure the adjacent side edges together by a suitable adhesive such as Estafoarn adhesive 671 except for a small distance adjacent the free ends of the folded strip. A exible rectangular bag-like body is thus produced having a rounded surface at the closed end and free edges at the open end.

A rectangular flexible stifener blade or stitfener 11 of nylon or other suitable material is disposed within the head so as substantially to fill the interior thereof, one end of the stilener thus formed being secured within a recess 12 formed in a handle 13. The stiiifener tapers in thickness towards the end which is located at the closed end of the head. As shown in FIGURE 2, the stiffener tapers towards the end which is located at the closed end of the head so that it is very thin at that end, and the thickness of the strip of foamed plastic material from which the head is made is greater than the thickness of the flexible strip 11, which characteristics contribute to the attainment of the desired stiffness of the brush and to the high load-carrying capacity of the brush. Any suitable clamping or fastening device may be used for removably fastening the head to the handle. One convenient method is to use a length of spring wire 14 which is passed around the open end of the head after the head has been pulled up tightly around the stiener. To facilitate the clamping action of the wire, a groove 15 is formed around the enlarged end of the handle so that the free end portions of the head will be pressed into the groove when the wire is tightened around the head.

It will be found that a brush formed from the above described components is very eiiicient and convenient in use and can provide a sharp edge to the painted area as there are no individual bristles which tend to become bent or otherwise distorted. In addition it is found that a brush in accordance with the invention can be made to have a stiffness which is comparable with ordinary bristle brushes.

Referring now to FGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings, the brush handle 16 is made hollow to provi-de a passage 17 by means of which the brush may be connected to a reservoir of paint or other liquid to be applied by means of the brush. The stitiener blade or stiifener 18 in this case is provided with recesses 19 which are in communication with the passage 17 so that liquid fed through the passage will pass into the hollow interior of the stiifener and from there pass outwardly to the head. To make the brush self-feeding, the liquid may be fed to the passage 17 under pressure, while the flow to the head may be controlled by means of a simple spring-loaded press valve 20 in the handle. If desired, the outer end of the stiffener could be divided into a number of sections to facilitate the painting of curved surfaces such Ias the surfaces of pipes or the like.

FIGURE 5 shows a modification in which a small pump unit is incorporated in the brush. In this construction the handle 21 is made hollow and is provided with an inlet tube 22 which is connected to a supply reservoir. The delivery end of the tube 22 is connected to an inlet valve 23 which extends through an end wall 24 of a cylinder 25. A piston ro-d 26 carrying a piston 27 passes through the end wall 24, the piston being provided with an outlet valve 28. The piston rod 26 is pivotally and slidably connected to a bell crank lever 29, 3G which is pivotally mounted on a bracket 31 on the handle. The arm 29 of the bell crank is adapted to act as an operating lever while a compression spring 32 is mounted between the operating lever 29 and the handle 21. The outlet end of the cylinder 25 is provided with an externally threaded extension 33 on to which is adapted to lbe screwed an internally threaded female connection 34. A wooden enlarged end portion 35 of the handle is secured by means of screws 36 to the female member 34 and a stiifener 37 is secured within the enlarged end of the handle and projects therefrom in substantially the same manner as is shown in FIGURE 2. In this case, however, the stitfener ifs laminated and the tapering effect in the thickness is obtained by making the layers of different length to provide 'a stepped contour with diminishing overall thickness of the stiffener towards the outer end. The interior of the stifener is provided with one or more tubular recesses 33 in communication with the female connection 34 which also open on to the outer surface of the stiffener. As explained with reference to FlG- URES 1 and 2, a recessed head of suitable porous ilexible material is removably tted over the stiifener and secured to lthe enlarged end of the handle. To enable the head and the stiifener to be located in the desired plane in relation to the operating arm 29,.a nut 39 is provided on the threaded extension 33 to ac-t as an adjustable abutment for the end face of the female member 34.

On pressing the operating arm 29 towards the handle 21 so as to compress the spring 32, the piston 27 is driven to the left within the cylinder 25, thereby opening the inlet valve 23 and closing the outlet valve 28, Liquid is thus drawn from the tube 22 into the cylinder 25. On releasing the operating arm 29, the spring 32 returns to its original condition and thereby retracts the piston 27 towards the end wall 24. This return movement of the piston opens the outlet valve 28 and closes the inlet valve 23. n the next operation of the arm 29, liquid will be forced out of the cylinder into the extension 33 and the Y female connection 34. From the latter, the liquid passes through the hollow interior of the stiffener into the head from which it may be applied to a surface in the normal manner'. It is thus apparent that a supply of material may be fed to the head of the brush at the desired rate merely by operating the arm 29 when necessary.

lt will be thus apparent that my invention will provide a simple and effective form of brush which will be especially useful in connection with fine painting operations requiring sharp edges. As the head elements for the brush can be produced relatively cheaply, it would be practicable for these elements to be discarded after use and replaced whereby the operation of washing out the head at the conclusion of a painting operation would be eliminated. Also it is obvious that, if the head element is not discarded, the operation of washing it out is greatly simplified as the head will normally be detachable from the handle.

What I claim is:

1. A paint brush comprising in combination:

(a) a handle havinU a pair of generally oppositely directed sides;

(b) A springy stiifener blade having an edge portion supported by said handle and lying in a plane between said sides, said stiifener blade having a thickness which decreases at a substantially uniform gradual rate from said handle in a direction away from said supported edge portion and providing a progressive increase in flexibility along the unsupported length thereof;

(c) a bag of freely yieldable liquid-absorbent sheet material enclosing the unsupported length of said stitfener blade and stiffened thereby, said bag being outwardly exposed throughout said unsupported length and having integral portions at the mouth thereof extending in overlying relation to said oppositely directed sides of said handle; and

(d) retention means acting compressively directly against said integral portions of said bag and urging vsaid integral portions in a direction normal to the length of the. brush against said sides of said handle.

2. A paint brush comprising in combination:

(a) a handle having a pair of generally oppositely di- 4 rected sides, said handle having means defining a supply passageway for p-aint;

(b) a springy stiffener blade having an edge portion supported by said handle and lying in a plane between said sides, said stiffener blade having a thickness which decreases at a substantially uniform gradual rate from said handle in a direction away from said supported edge portion and providing a progressive increase in flexibility along the unsupported length thereof, said stiffener blade having means defining a recess communicating with said passageway;

rc) a bag of freely yieldable liquid-absorbent sheet material enclosing the unsupported length of said stiffener blade and stidened thereby, said bag being outwardly exposed throughout said unsupported length and having integral portions at the mouth thereof extending in overlying relation to said oppositely directed sides of handle, the interior of said bag communicating with said recess; and

(d) retention means acting compressively directly against said integral portions of said bag and urging said integral vportions in a direction normal to the length of the brush against said sides of said handle.

3. A paint brush comprising in combination:

(a) a handle having a pair of generally oppositely directed sides;

(b) a' springy stiffener blade'having an edge portion supported by said handle and lying in a plane between said sides, said stiifener blade having a thickness which decreases at a substantially uniform gradu-al rate from said handle in a direction away from.

said supported edge portion and providing a progressive increasein flexibility along the unsupported length thereof, said stitfener blade having narrow slit means defining a plurality of adjacent separately dellectable sections at its end remote from said handle;

(c) a bag of freely yieldable liquid-absorbent sheet material enclosing the unsupported length of said stiifener blade and stidened thereby, said bag being outwardly exposed throughout said unsupported length and having integral portions at the mouth thereof extending in overlying relation to said oppositely directed sides of said handle; and

(d) retention means acting compressively directly against said integral portions of said bag and urging said integral portions in a direction normal to the length of the brush against said sides of said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 60,931 Park Jan. 1, 1867 1,783,151 McArthur Nov. 25, 1930 2,011,975 lohnson Aug. 20, 1935 2,062,065 Miley Nov. 24, 1936 2,260,390 Lorenz Oct. 28, 1941 2,269,424 Bernstein Jan. 13, 1942 2,314,539 Hollenbeck et al. Mar. 23, 1943 2,602,948 Kautenberg July 15, 1952 2,691,788 Thomassen Oct. 19, 1954 2,735,129 Lorenz Feb. 21, 1956 2,796,617 Bradshaw June 25, 1957 2,912,711 Hilton Nov. 17, 1959 2,946,073 Vosbikian et al. July 26, 1960 2,983,944 Uselis May 16, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Feb. 16, 1952 

1. A PAINT BRUSH COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A HANDLE HAVING A PAIR OF GENERALLY OPPOSITELY DIRECTED SIDES; (B) A SPRINGY STIFFNER BLADE HAVING AN EDGE PORTION SUPPORTED BY SAID HANDLE AND LYING IN A PLANE BETWEEN SAID SIDES, SAID STIFFENER BLADE HAVING A THICKNESS WHICH DECREASES AT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM GRADUAL RATE FROM SAID HANDLE IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID SUPPORTED EDGE PORTION AND PROVIDING A PROGRESSIVE INCREASE IN FLEXIBILITY ALONG THE UNSUPPORTED LENGTH THEREOF; (C) A BAG OF FREELY YIELDABLE LIQUID-ABSORBENT SHEET MATERIAL ENCLOSING THE UNSUPPORTED LENGTH OF SAID STIFFENER BLADE AND STIFFENED THEREBY, SAID BAG BEING OUTWARDLY EXPOSED THROUGHOUT SAID UNSUPPORTED LENGTH AND HAVING INTEGRAL PORTIONS AT THE MOUTH THEREOF EXTENDING IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAID OPPOSITELY DIRECTED SIDES OF SAID HANDLE; AND (D) RETENTION MEANS ACTING COMPRESSIVELY DIRECTLY AGAINST SAID INTEGRAL PORTIONS OF SAID BAG AND URGING SAID INTEGRAL PORTIONS IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO THE LENGTH OF THE BRUSH AGAINST SAID SIDES OF SAID HANDLE. 